One of the hardest things in all of the Christian life is to figure out where rules fit in. All of us know we need them, but we often don’t appreciate them. Without them we are a mess, but with too many of them we are just as big of a mess. For some, rules are the backbone of all morality, the gateway to God. For others, even the word “rules” turns the stomach. The problem arises when we realize that both of these inclinations are flawed.
An over-valuing of rules is legalism. It takes right rules, combines them with wrong motivation and wrong understanding to create a toxic brew of wrong application. Rather than serving people, these rules burden people. The rules themselves become the end, or point to the wrong end. They are understood as the means of righteousness, the highest virtue, and the means to justification in the eyes of God. They undermine the gospel and supersede it. And the trickiest part is the subtlety of all this. Every legalist I have ever known believes he or she is not adding to the gospel but truly upholding godliness.
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